1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to financial consulting; and more particularly, to a browser interface and client-server system for providing financial services.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Freedom to choose how to invest money is a cherished, time-honored right. However, a good portion of the investing public is confused about investing. As a result, many people tend to utilize a minimal number of investment vehicles, usually those with which they are familiar. Oftentimes, these modes of investment may not be appropriate for the investors' needs or ultimate goals.
Recognizing that they lack the basic principles of investing, some people turn to financial advisors for specialized investment advice. Typically, financial advisors utilize a number of disparate tools to formulate a discrete financial plan. These include financial planning calculators, review of historical market trends and yield calculations, and the like. In some instances, certain of these tools may be automated; others require manual use.
The financial industry has identified the need to automate financial services. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,132,899 discloses a computer data gathering and processing methodology that facilitates access to various data including investment performance, Securities Exchange Commission reports, and stock financial characteristics to produce a list of stocks for purchase for investment and operating accounts. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,710,889 and 5,890,140 disclose a device and system for electronically integrating a plurality of financial services from different geographical locations and in different time zones.
There have likewise been developed a number of computerized financial advisory systems. U.S. Pat. No. 5,918,217 discloses a user interface which allows a user to interactively explore how changes in one or more input decisions, such as risk tolerance, savings level, and retirement age affect one or more output values such as the probability of achieving specified financial goals. Some of these tools are available over the Internet. At <<http://www.armchairmillionaire.com/fivesteps/intro.html>> there is provided an interactive savings tool which explores how to build a million dollar portfolio based on total dollar inputs.
In some instances, there have been attempts to integrate different automated financial tools. U.S. Pat. No. 5,245,535 discloses a system for demonstrating and displaying different financial concepts, which includes a central processing unit for processing financial information from numerical data and a display means for displaying the financial information in graphic and textual form. U.S. Pat. No. 5,214,579 discloses a data processing system that manages, monitors and reports the growth of a participant's investment base with respect to progress in achieving a predetermined target amount.
None of the patents or systems described above disclose a secure system having a myriad of integrated financial application and tools.
There accordingly remains a need in the art for an integrated system for providing financial services that can perform a number of different finance-related functions. It would be particularly useful if such a system could access real-time market data to provide timely financial advice. It would also be useful if this tool incorporated financial applications such as a financial planning application. The system would also be more useful if it had the ability to monitor and assist investor-mediated transactions in order to achieve predetermined financial goals. The integrated system would also be useful if it were capable of allowing a user to move between workstations at different locations while maintaining the application entitlements and preferences of their own computer, especially using the Internet to access a host server.